Buried in the classified section of a newspaper is a hastily written plea for help from older Australians, as a government decision threatens to upend their entire lives

Older Australians have pleaded with the government to abandon plans to phase out cheques, with the once popular payment system set to be history by 2030. 

The move has prompted one fed-up Aussie to publish in the public notices section of a newspaper their opposition to the reform. 

‘The government has decided to phase out cheques. If you disagree with this decision please sign the petition,’ read the public notice published on Wednesday. 

Readers were also encouraged to lobby their local member of parliament or senators. 

The petition, which was started by David Miller on March 7, has garnered more than 11,670 signatures. 

‘Australians already lose billions of dollars a year to online scams and electronic theft – and that’s only the reported losses,’ he wrote.

Mr Miller argued millions of older Australians, who do not use online banking, will be left ‘severely disadvantaged’ if cheques are phased out. 

‘Cheque processing has already been simplified and streamlined, and cheque transactions are now electronically transmitted between financial institutions,’ he said.

‘There is no need to discontinue cheque use.’

Mr Miller argued that getting rid of cheque payments will increase the likelihood of older Australians becoming victims of sophisticated online scams as they will be forced onto technology they are unfamiliar with. 

He said it will be more expensive to make transactions in rural areas and will prevent larger payments from being made ‘during outages and power failures’. 

Aussies lost $20million to bank impersonation scams in 2022 and phone and text scams claimed a massive $169million in 2021 according to figures by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 

Dozens of those who signed the petition said cheques are an essential payment method that many used to access everyday items and services.

‘This needs to be left alone. So many in the country need cheques because they have no internet coverage and so rely on cheques to pay bills,’ one person wrote. 

‘It is very unfair to everyone and another example of the bank’s withdrawing essential services, especially to elderly people,’ another person wrote. 

‘Not everyone can do or wants to pay online and if there is a breakdown in electronics there needs to be an alternative,’ a third added. 

Dozens of commenters slammed the government’s decision to phase out cheques and said the payment method is essential for millions of Aussies (stock image) 

Others said the phasing out of cheques was another way the government was indirectly infringing on people’s ‘freedom of choice’ as Australia transitions towards a cashless society. 

‘My money, my choice how I use it,’ one person commented. 

‘Our concerns regarding our options and preferences are not being taken into account. Cash is king,’ another wrote. 

‘People should have [a] right of choice, not have it taken away from them,’ a third agreed. 

The federal government announced it would gradually wind down the payment system in its cheques transition plan released last month. 

The plan includes a two step timeline that will stop cheques being issued by June 30, 2028 before the payment method is no longer accepted from September 30, 2029.

Cheques will be completely abandoned by the start of 2030. 

The decision was made to overhaul Australia’s financial system in a bid to make it more ‘modern, competitive and efficient’ in an increasingly digital economy. 

The government also released a consultation paper in December last year for feedback about efforts to facilitate the transition to electronic payments. 

AusPayNet CEO Andy White said phasing out cheque payments was a step in the right direction towards a more secure form of conducting financial transactions. 

‘It is clear that cheques are no longer fit for purpose as a payment method when there are so many safe, efficient and convenient digital alternatives available,’ he said. 

The use of cheques in Australia has declined by around 90 per cent over the last ten years and currently make up just 0.1 per cent of all payments across the country. 

Cheques accounted for around 85 per cent of non-cash payments in Australia in the 1980s according to findings by the Reserve Bank.